In the Middle of This Madness…

A robin just landed on a power line outside my office window. He/she was singing up a storm. It caught my attention and I watched it for as long as it stayed on the wire – just a few moments.

There were two things that caught my attention. One was the singing. This little bird was singing its heart out. My windows were closed, the air conditioner going; some ambient background noise; and the music from the bird was still enough to capture my attention.

The second thing was that the wire was moving around from the weight of the bird landing on it. The wire bounced around and the bird remained balanced and singing its song. IT was a joy to watch and to listen.

The bird wasn’t perched long before is spread its wings, made a push and off into the air. But I remained, thinking about what I had seen in an instant.

I remember a story told by Howard Hendricks. He asked a friend how he was doing and the friend’s reply was that he was doing well under the circumstances. Dr. Hendricks’ response was, “What are you doing there; under the circumstances?”

I want to be like the bird on the wire. I want to be on top of any turbulence, troubling times, difficult circumstances, or problem situations. I want to be on top, singing…

I read recently, and I am trying to make it my personal philosophy – it isn’t how you weather the storm, but learning to dance in the rain.

I think Bible-book author, James, may have been thinking this when he wrote “Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds… And he followed it up with how the process works.

Today I am going to dance and sing… Other may see, or need to see, my joy.